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Core Capital Partners CERTIFIED

No New Investments Warning:
Members have submitted information that the following organization(s) may not be making investments into new portfolio companies. This warning can be contested by submitting proof of a completed investment in a new portfolio company within the last four weeks here.

Firm Rating:

Rated 2.8 / 5.0 by 15

TrackRecord

2.6

OperatingCompetence

3.1

PitchingEfficiency

2.6

FavorableDeal Terms

2.5

ExecutionAssistance

3.3

Firm Homepage:

FIRM OVERVIEW: Medium Private VC founded in 1999 based out of Washington, United States (US East)

FIRM DESCRIPTION: Core Capital Partners provides capital to early-stage ventures developing or incorporating disruptive technologies in high-growth IT markets such as telecom/wireless, new media, networking and security. Focused on helping entrepreneurs create sustainable sector leaders, Core invests across the United States, but capitalizes on exceptional Mid-Atlantic connections and Washington public policy insight and leverage. Since its inception in 1999, Core has successfully invested in over 40 companies and has seen 2 IPOs in its first fund alone.

Posted by
ecoaster
on 2009-07-09

Although I often use TheFunded, I am not a frequent poster. However, I strongly disagree with some comments made about Core Capital and felt the need to post my experience.

Our company has been supported by Core for almost 4 years now â€" they led our seed round which helped start the company and our space. They have invested in every follow-on round. We have 4 investors today and Core has been helpful attracting them.

The Core team has done a very good job helping me build the business in other ways too (beyond funding). Specifically, they added measurable value helping me build the team and the defining the comp packages to recruit top talent. Today, we have an overall cap structure that makes sense to everyone involved.

Core has supported me through the ups and downs that come with building a business from the seed phase. I count on their patience, guidance, and support. In the end, that matters most to me as CEO.

Posted by
sediga
on 2008-07-22

PUBLIC:

Core funded our company about a year ago and we are now talking about the next round. I was rather anxious about Core when I read the comments on this page when we were going thru our first round, but things have moved along very well.
We deal mostly with Will Dunbar and Rahul Jain; they are focused and look for the best interest of the company. As an early-stage startup, itâ€™s hard to step out of the box and take an objective look at yourself. Discussions with the Core team helped us to get focused and take steps that would get us ready for the next phase.

Posted by
Holstein
on 2008-06-20

PUBLIC:

Core co-led our last round and has been incredibly additive since. Tom Wheeler brings unparalleled insight as an entrepreneur, industry leader, and investor. If you're a mobile entrepreneur, there simply isn't a better board member out there.

The entire Core team has been helpful in pushing our thinking and making us a focused, lean company as we work towards profitability. Especially helpful has been the detailed and thoughtful support from Grant and Rahul.

Posted by
advisor
on 2008-06-18

PUBLIC:

I've read all the comments about Core and find that the majority are correct. Jonathan is exceedingly smart and a very charming guy. Unfortunately, like others have experienced, (1) their term sheets are amongst the most aggressive out there, (2) they over structure their deals, (3) they will offer you half of what you need so you need to go back to them again, (4) they drag out the close if they smell you will run out of funds (and then as you are close to the wall, will hit you with more conditions), (5) they have no qualms about denigrating other VCs, and (6) are extremely arrogant.

We met with the Founder/MD Jonathan Silver first. He was great - we got along well, he loved out technology, our company, our concept. He wanted to sign us that day, but could only commit half of what we needed.

So we bumped to their due-diligence guys, and that killed the deal. They were just about the worst group of recent-MBA grads I've ever met with. They were overly arrogant, were completely unprepared for our meeting, and insisted to be experts in a field they never analyzed before.

Posted by
Captain Bootstrap
on 2007-11-26

PUBLIC:

I was young and naive to think that the money and the talent would ride off into the sunset together. The ink was dry only a few weeks before they gutted our team, brought in their own guy and crapped on our dreams. I've since moved on and promised myself never to give up operating control until I'm ready to cash out.